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The Reunion
The Reunion occurred 50 years after the Eteno and Vaikan empires stopped the Ghorax from using the ancient superweapon, the Galaxy Buster, to destroy the Milky Way as documented in The Meeting. Now, Karrel seeks to return to Malisk II to celebrate fifty years of having a successful alliance. Chapter 1: Invitation Karrel was in the Yoltox Prime in the Malick Cluster. Fifty years had gone by since his encounter with the Eteno. He had matured physically resembling an adult Vaikan more. Just now, a letter from the Eteno had arrived via Telepathic Amplifier. "King Rustiagon Karrel, You are cordially invited to celebrate fifty years of maintaining a succesful alliance. I would like to discuss the details in person. Yours truly, Ivanov Monore" After Karrel finished, he said, "Computer, set a course for Yanya," and the Yoltox Prime took off. Yanya was quite far and it was much too risky to pass through Ghorax territory again. The trip was quite lengthy. It took several days to get there. En route to Yanya, he encountered an unknown large alien ship. "What is that? I've never seen anything like it?" Next to it was a familiar looking ship though he couldn't put his finger on it. The larger ship fired a laser which destroyed half of the familiar one. Karrel intercepted the radio signals travelling between the two ships. "Don't lie to the Kklxin! We are the creators of the most destructive weapons in the universe! Now, let me ask again. Where is the Galaxy Buster?" "Like I said, the Galaxy Buster was destroyed five decades ago! The Vaikan don't have it. We don't have it. No one has it!" "Gah, I've had enough of this. Attack them!" Upon hearing that last message, Karrel fired a missile at the Kklxin fighter to intervene with the conversation. "Oh, what's this, a Vaikan? I didn't expect this. Let's get out of here." The Kklxin took off into warpspace leaving the familiar ship to itself. Soon, Karrel sent a message to that ship. "This is King Rustiagon Karrel of the Karalian Empire. Are you in need of repairs?" On-screen appeared an Eteno. It looked like Lieutenant Bankley, but was not quite like him. He had a slightly different body structure, yet had a similar face. The Eteno responded, "Could it be? Are you really the legendary Rustiagon Karrel who assisted us in stopping the Ghorax from destroying the whole galaxy? It must be you!" "It's been a long time, hasn't it?" Karrel said. "But I feel like I have seen you before. Do I know you?" "Well, my father once told me he actually met you in person. I never thought I would be able to do the same." "So, fellow Eteno, what is your name? "I am Captain Phillip Bankley of the ENS Desserhau. It is an honor to meet you, sir," the Eteno said. "You are the son of Jeremiah Bankley?!" "Yes sir." "It is wonderful to meet you. I am on a journey to find Malisk II again and I came across this little scuffle." "Yeah, we're just a Gunboat. No way we could've stood up to that Kklxin Cruiser. Thank you for driving it off. We've been at war with them for over 20 years!" "You never asked us for help?" Karrel said. "Well, we thought we could handle it ourselves, but these Kklxin are surprisingly proving to be a handful. Now, I'm sure you want to get to Malisk II, don't you so let's save the details for later." "Thanks!" Karrel replied. The Desserhau turned to face the Sius system, and started engaging its warp drive. Karrel did the same. Once they arrived near Malisk II, Karrel was immediately hailed by the military. "The Yoltox Prime? It is King Rustiagon Karrel! By the sweet mother of mercy!" One of the space controllers yelled. "May I dock somewhere?" Karrel asked on an open channel to Desserhau and the controllers. "There is a pad on top of the Imperial Palace on the surface available, sir!" A controller said. "Thank you. Captain Bankley, could you please meet me there once your ship docks wherever it is docking?" "Of course, Your Highness." "I'll see you there." Karrel flew down to the surface and landed on top of the Imperial Palace. He got out of the ship to meet a squad of soldiers and an elderly Eteno carrying a cane with them. "Karrel? Heheh, it's been so long!" Vole said happily, and with an elderly voice. "Supreme Commander Vole Monore?!" "Hehe, not Supreme Commander, but still Vole." "It's wonderful to see you again, Vole." "You too. You look as young as you were when we worked together for a short time." "Well, we don't age nearly as fast as you do." "Eh? Oh, of course. Sorry, my memory is horrible nowadays." Vaikan (to do: update this) "What's your homeworld like?" "Well, once I learn more about your history, perhaps we can go." "That's perfectly fine." Karrel was escorted by some Eteno to meet the current Supreme Commander as well as the children of the Eteno he encountered from before. Eteno Karrel and the five Eteno, including Vole, walked down a staircase to the main office of the palace. It was not as Karrel remembered it. It was much more grand, and it seemed larger. At the main desk was an Eteno that he couldn't exactly recognize. They all walked to the desk, and Vole said warmly, "Hello, Ivan." "Oh, hello Vole. I zought you vere out golfing?" The thick-accented man replied. "No, no. A good friend came back. One your father worked with I believe." Ivan's eyes widened as he took a good look at Karrel. "Vhat? King Ruztiagon Karrel? Here?" "That's me." Karrel said. "Vow... my fazher vas Flametrooper, on Ghorax Ztation to destroy Galaxy Vuster!" "Really? That was your father." "Ja, sir. Is zere anysing I can get you?" "The only thing I can think of are the dossiers on Field Marshall Granger, Captain Shang Doffin, High Admiral Ernel, and Captain Jeremiah Bankley, if that is ok." "Of course, of course! Anysing for a great military hero!" As Ivan searched through his computer, Vole turned to Karrel. "During the time that you were gone, the military recognized you as a war hero. You're actually an honorary... ah... umm... oh yes! You are an honorary Captain in the Imperial Navy!" Vole said joyously. "Done! I have doshiers on all people vequested." Ivan spoke up. He turned the monitor towards Karrel. "Unfortunately, Ghranger died a few months after you dizappeared in battle, and Captain Doffin was never married and never had kids, in case you wanted to meet zeir offzring." "Thank you, Supreme Commander." Karrel spoke. "Please, do call me Ivan." "Whatever you say, Ivan" As Karrel read the dossiers, he thought of something that he should've earlier. "Vole, how are your kids doing?" "Oh, they're fine. Dax is an Iron... err... Pauldron, and Lily is an engineer." "Interesting! Could I see the, perhaps?" {C {C {C}"Sure, Karrel. We could get everyone together! The Granger twins, Ernel and his son, and Captain Bankley and his son! A big reunion!" "That vould be my honor to ahrrange." Ivan said. "Ok, Ivan. Would you like to come with us?" "Of course. It vould be my utmozt honor." Ivan turned to Karrel. "You are lucky indeed, sir, to have worked with and been the friend of such a great man. Vole was and is a very kind man. I didn't have parents and had to fend for myself. Vole took vee under his ving, and here I am today." "Vole, you never told me about that! That was very kind!" "What? Oh yes. He was a young fellow and out on his own. I taught him everything I knew about politics, economics, and the military. I am extremely proud of him, as he ran simply on his values when he campaigned for his office." Vole cast a warm smile at Ivan. "But... I thought your father was a Flametrooper, Ivan." "Ja. Vut he died a year after I was born, and mozer killed in Ghorax raid vhen I vas 5. I joined group of youths who hide from sozial services, and ve live togezer in pretty old house outzide of this city." "That's a very sad story with a happy ending." "Indeed. But shall vee begin plannning zis reunion?" Vaikan "Yes, we shall," Karrel said. Vole said, "I always wanted to know what your homeworld was like. Perhaps I could visit there sometime?" "Certainly, but it's quite far away. It's in another arm of the galaxy. With a ship like mine, it took a few days to get here." "Oh, so that's why we haven't seen your kind around here before. I had no idea you had come such a long way from home." "Yes, our Outpost Yanya is our only colony in this arm. It is dedicated to exploring and mapping this sector of space." "Well, perhaps we can fit than in as part of our Reunion plans." "Then again, we got Kklxin all over you trying to hunt you guys down. Those people are as dangerous as the Ghorax." "True. But I still got a bit of adventure in me." Several days gone by as a parade was set up just as when Karrel arrived the first time. The party was bigger than last time actually. As Karrel was enjoying his time, all of the sudden he got a telepathic message. "Karrel...Karrel! This is an urgent message!" "What is it?" "We've spotted what seems to be a fleet of Kklxin ships. They are about to penetrate our defenses outside the Szon system! We can't hold them off!" "Acknowledged! I'll get there as fast as I can!" Karrel said. "Sorry to leave early, but my homeworld is in trouble. They are under attack by a fleet of Kklxin and can't hold them off." Vole said, "Oh my! Their must be a lot of them if they are putting up a good fight against you guys. We should bring some other Eteno fleets as well." Ivan said, "We have them right here." The descendants of the previous Eteno were ready to embark. They set off on their several day voyage. Eteno Ernel, Vole, and everyone else assembled on the bridge of the Battleship Unity. A good several hundred capital ships and thousands of fighters and bombers were following Karrel on their way to vaikan space. "What are we doing again?" "We're following Karrel into vaikan space, Vole." A retired Colonel Bankley reminded. "Oh yeah! And we're going to kill some Kklxin!" {C {C {C}"Right..." "Admiral Ernel, when will we be arriving?" Asked Lieutenant Dexter Granger. "In two or three days. Most of the journey is over." Replied High Admiral George Ernel II. Lieutenant Granger nodded, and went back to his console. "I find it interesting that relatively little time passed for Mr. Karrel, all our parents became old and we became adults." Noted Colonel Bentley Granger. Everyone chuckled at the hidden joke. Ivan turned to them from the front of the bridge. "I have good deal of intelligence on the Vaikan, vut I vould like to know from you all vhat couldn't vee learnt from official veport." "Well, Karrel is a nice guy, and probably his entire species. They innately hate... oh dear... evil! And Karrel had good taste for... oh my... umm... past! So that mighht be a species' trait. Although that may not be true." Vole said, almost forgetting that he was speaking multiple times. "Karrel was a strong man, and had quite a sense of honor. As a whole, a great guy." George Ernel Senior remarked. "Alvight, zis information vill be uzeful in diplomatic talks vith zee Vaikan." The trip was relatively uneventful, except for Vole losing his wallet, and subsequently forgetting he had one when it was returned to him. There was also an incident with Ernel Senior and Jeremiah Bankley always falling out of their bunks. When they all arrived at the Szon system, nobody could believe what they were seeing. Two huge fleets battling it out, with the non-Kklxin fleet closer to them quickly losing ground. "All ships! Fire at vill on the Kklxin!" Part 2: Arrival The battle commenced. The Eteno closed in and gunned down some Kklxin ships while Karrel followed. The already weakened ships were destroyed while the less damaged ones retreated. "Damn! They ran away again! Those cowards!" Karrel said. Urtag was there in a Dragon Dreadnought, "My, these monsters are as strong as the Ghorax. I see, so those Eteno have come back to help us. I must say. They've improved technologically since the last time we saw them." Ivan said, "Indeed ve have." The fleets closed in until they saw a green and blue planet with beautiful ring system, with a hellish, molten moon in orbit. Karrel said, "Well, fellow Eteno, the planet you see there is known as Rauch, homeworld of the Vaikan. It's official name is Ucharpli. Keep in mind that there is slightly less oxygen on this planet than Malisk II so don't be surprised if you tire out faster than usual. Use some inhalers if you have to. The gravity is also a little bit lighter as well." Admiral Ernel II replied, "Thanks for letting us know. We'll be sure to keep an eye on the...um...elderly." "I'll go ahead and get a landing area ready in Yallvus, which in our language translates to Capital City. It will be past twilight in the area where we will arrive." The Eteno aboard the Unity took a shuttle down to Ucharpli as Karrel led them. The Eteno were in awe at the planet's alien appearance as well as how untouched most of the planet was. The buildings seemed ancient; they were made of stone. Yet, futuristic flying cars were amongst them. No doubt these structures were thousands of years old. Off in the distance was the enormous Castle Hall which rose high above the city. It looked almost like a mountain against the sky. Karrel said, "This is Yallvus, the oldest country and city on the entire planet. It was built when we first learned how to write which was approximately 17,000 years ago. Most of the buildings including the Castle Hall have been standing since then." "Incredible!" Granger said. "They've maintained those buildings for thousands of years?" "Yes. Of course, we use modern technology to make sure they don't fall apart, but it reminds us of how far we've come." The Dragon Cruiser along with the Eteno landed on a landing pad. Torches lit the streets as Vaikan walked by wearing ceremonial cloaks. They were headed to an outdoor party where lots of Vaikan crowded around a stage with a choir of more than one hundred Vaikan. "I've been doing a bit of planning myself for a party for you guys. You really deserve it." Vole said to himself, "It's odd. They seem so primitive, yet so advanced at the same time. They must truly appreciate their old culture." Not long after, an elderly Vaikan walked up to the stage and everyone quieted down. The Vaikan said, "Greetings, my fair kingdom. It is I, Rustiagon Yogan." Karrel said to the Eteno, "He is my grandfather. He ruled this kingdom a several centuries years ago." The Eteno were still in awe at how old this Vaikan was. Yogan continued, "It is my pleasure to welcome our new ally, the Eteno. Their leader, Ivan, is here with them. So, Ivan, would you like to come up and say a few words before we begin our celebration?" Ivan went up to the stage. There was no microphone for him to use so he needed to almost shout for everyone to hear. "I would, sank you. Ahem." Ivan cleared his throat out of habit and nervousness. "Vy name is Ivanov Monore, Supreme Commander of ze Eteno Imverial Triumvirate. 50 years ago, long before I vas born, King Rustiagon Karrel unintentionally arrived in Eteno space. Ze Destroyer Harmony provided shelter to ze King and there vas much discussion vetween him, and former High Admiral George Ernel, who is needless to say, a little vit older zan he vas 50 years ago." All of the Eteno present and some Vaikan chuckled at his joke. "During ze discussion, zere vas a Ghorax assault on the ship, in vich Karrel helped stave off. He has proved himself to us as a varrior, and a man of honor. Our entire Empire vespects him greatly, and he is even an honorary officer in ze Imperial Marine Corp. He is truly a cvedit to all Vaikan. Vay peace and diplomacy bloom." Ivan finished loudly. There were large cheers from the crowd as Ivan bowed respectfully. Karrel then walked up to the stage as Ivan stepped back to allow room. "I would also like to say a few words before the celebration about the Eteno." Everyone silenced at the sight of the king beginning to speak. "Through my total week of interaction with them, they have proved themselves honorable, strong, resiliant, and good. When I was attacked by the now-dead Rarsan, it was the Eteno that showed understanding. When it happened a second time, it was an Eteno that very well saved my life. We should all be glad that we have them as allies." The cheering was louder than ever. "Now, before begin, let's quiet down for the Vaikan Federal Monarchy anthem - Story of Rauch. The whole city went dead quiet. A slow steady drum was played. Shortly, it was accompanied by a slowy steady bell. "Huah!" "Huah!" "Huah!" "Huah!" the choir chanted from their throats. Then, some other choir members began humming the main melody. Not long after, the words were sung in Yallvus Talk. The song concluded with the line "Glor Krayhan toh sa Tiz alt". "Ya!" Yogan then followed up and said, "Let the celebration begin!" Confetti and fireworks exploded into the air and a Vaikan band hailing from Feurcy begun playing while everyone else proceeded to either enjoy the food or to start dancing. Cheerful fiddles and lutes echoed across the air. The Eteno and Vaikan began conversing and eating the many succulent foods that Ucharpli had to offer. Vole walked to the food tables, and to his displeasure, he was far too short to reach the food on top. He then noticed a table lower to the ground with the exact same food, to his delight. Dax Monore and several crewmembers of the Battleship Unity were feasting on a cake-like food rather joyously, and Dax had already consumed three slices. George Ernel II approached Karrel as he walked nearby. "The entire planet's hotels will be absolutely filled up with men from the fleet, Your Highness. We'll be working on skeleton crews!" "Hehehe, that'll do wonders for the hotel business." Karrel replied. Karrel noticed in the distance that a short, long-bearded Vaikan soldier and an Eteno marine arm wrestling. The marine seemed to be losing, but he certainly wasn't giving up. "Oh, this should be good." He said to himself... The marine tried harder and harder until he eventually ran out of breath. He gasped for air and took an inhaler. Karrel said, "I must say. That was quite a good match." Meanwhile, the older Bankley just finished gulping down some Khathic mead. It was some of the best stuff he tasted, comparable to the kind of drinks he was used to back home. He eyed a Vaikan waiter refilling drinks for other guests. Puzzling to him, the waiter was a child only about four feet tall. "Hey, kid," Bankley said. "Can I get a refill?" "You do know we're about the same age?" the waiter replied. "Heh heh sorry, kid...I mean sir. I'm just kidding," Bankley said trying to mask his misunderstanding, but the waiter chuckled as well knowing that being referred to as a kid was a common mistake by other species. The drink was shortly refilled. "Here you go. Enjoy the party!" the waiter said handing him the mead. ---- An worker Vaikan suddenly came running up to Karrel. "Your Highness, someone has broken into the Sacred Catacombs!" Karrel replied, "Who could have done such a thing?" "I don't know, sir. I cannot get accurate DNA scans that were left behind." "I must go at once. Vole and Ivan, would you like to come with me?" Vole said, "I would like to. I'd be willing to crush whoever disrupted your sacred grounds." Ivan said. "Agreed. What iz da Sacred Catacombs anyway?" Karrel said, "It is a huge labryinth that goes deep beneath the Castle Hall. At the very end is the resting grounds of all past Vaikan kings." "Sounds important," said Vole. Karrel, Vole, and Ivan set out to the Castle Hall which was about a mile away. Once they arrived Vole and Ivan were in awe at the enormous size of the castle. Karrel said, "Yes, this castle was once the home of all Vaikan in Yallvus. The rest of the city was built as the Vaikan population grew." They stepped inside, went down a set of stairs and entered the dimly lit catacombs. Karrel, Vole, and Ivan each grabbed a torch and proceeded through. "I sense an evil presence here." They eventually came to a room with a pile of enormous, dead creatures. They were Makaridons, dinosaur-like creatures from the continent Tralgatar. Vole said, "What are those things?" "We have large populations of them here in the catacombs to guard the tombs of our deceased kings. However, it seems they were effortlessly slaughtered." Soon enough they came to the final room in the catacombs. There were many tombs with objects belonging to their respective kings. At the far end of the room was a cloaked figure who turned around and reveals its face. "Vhat? Iz him?!" Ivan yelled. The figure chuckled loudly. "What... Rarsan... how?!" Karrel managed to stutter. "You fools know so much, yet understand so little. It is my duty to make you all see." Rarsan said calmly, his voice resonating inside the cold room. Ivan shot Rarsan an evil glare and ripped his handgun out of it's holster. He popped off the entire clip at him without hurting him at all. Disgusted, Ivan loaded another clip and repeated the process. Again, no damage was done. "Pitiful fool! You cannot hurt me with that insignificant toy!" Vole, slightly confused, finally remembered who the man Ivan shot at was. He discreetly whispered into his communicator. "Why are you here, Rarsan? What are you trying to do? You died!" Karrel yelled at him. "You understand so litte, Karrel. I cannot be truly killed with normal weapons. With the power of these kings, I intend to rejuvenate myself and continue my mission!" "What are you trying to do?" "Isn't it so obvious?" "No, as a matter of fact. That's why I asked you." "Hehehe. You will all meet the same fate. These kings will serve me well for my purposes." Karrel charged at him with his sword drawn, but he was stopped by some sort of psychic barrier. "Oh this will never do, dear brother. Never. Your pitiful attempt makes me laugh. I think I may even leave you all for now just so you can all have your fun! Then I will rise and destroy you all! Tata for now, pitiful insects!" And with his final words, he vanished. "Vhat in ze name of Glatezly vas zat?" Ivan asked, completely confused. "Something I hoped would never happen." "Come on, everybody! The party is still young! We can follow this whatchamacalit and his evil plot later." Vole spoke up. "I... suppose you're right, Vole. We should be getting back anyway, people might get worried." Karrel said. Right as he finished, several fully-armored men ran into the large room. "Your honors, are you okay?" The lead one asked, with a metallic voice. "We're fine." Vole stated comfortably. "Sir, with all due respect, you sent out a high priority alert." "I did? Oh yeah! Some horrible abberation was defiling this tomb. He's gone now, though. We can all get back to the party!" "Vith respect, you just vant ze fruightcakes, ja?" Ivan asked. "Sure, sure. Can we go back up now? Its cold down here!" Everyone sighed except for Vole, and they began going up the stairs. "I'll meet up with you!" Karrel said to them as he stayed at the exit. He turned, and walked towards the massacred animals. He wanted to know how they died. Karrel examined the Makaridons lying dead on the floor. "Their corpses are fresh. They seemed to have been killed recently by laser fire." "Who could of done this?" said Vole. "Well, we Vaikan don't use lasers as weaponry except with our ships. Our people rely only on archaic weapons such as swords." Vole noticed, "Hey, I think I'm picking up traces of what seems to be a teleportation signal. Someone must have came here and left without being noticed at all." "Whoever did this is most likely assisting Rarsan as Makaridons are also known to repel malevolent spirits. There could only be one race that might be doing so...the Kklxin." "How are we meant to find them? I mean, they just appear at random. We can't trace their homeworld." "We ought to do more research on them. First, let's get out of these musty catacombs. I'll inform the Peacekeeper Counsellor to strengthen the security around here." Vole, Ivan and Karrel continued out of the catacombs and into the fresh air outside. The party was still going on with thousands of Vaikan and Eteno about. "We know that the Kklxin are an ancient race who started a war with the Chch'ptk. These two races were the only ones known to be able to travel between galaxies. They eventually destroyed themselves with their own version of the Galaxy Buster, though a few remaining individuals from both races still exist in our own galaxy. The Kklxin are much more hostile. But why would they be assisting a long, dead spirit?" Ivan said, "Perhaps, our libraries ave information." "Really?" Karrel said. "If you have been at war with the Kklxin for some time now, you must know a great deal more on them than our kind. Tell me what you know." "Ze Kklxin are vysterious race zat attacked us vithout varning tventy years ago. Zey have few permanent outvosts and factoriez, vut seem to have large standing military. Zey seem to have underetsimated, as ze Imperial Navy has been vinning battle after battle. However, zem aiding ze Rarsan vay be attempt to turn tides. My veapon no effect on Rarsan. Perhaps his ghostlike features vork both vays. He may need ze Kklxin to do anysing physical. Remove ze Kklxin from ze eqvation, and he vill be severely limited in his options." Ivan's thick accent was causing Karrel's translator to flat-out skip some of his words. "So you're suggesting that we seperate the Kklxin from Rarsan, or vice versa, and then directly confront him once he has been weakened?" "Ja!" "That sounds like a good plan. I'll see to getting security tightened around here." "Zat is good. Zere is a veapon zat vay help vith securing zis tomb. Ve call it ze Iron Lion. Ve created it to combat ze powerful Kklxin army." Karrel chuckled. "It sounds dangerous. What is it, exactly?" Since it vas Vole who dreamed zis veapon up, I believe it is fitting for him to explain." "Alright, Ivan. It is a four-legged metal beast of death! A self-aware AI mimics the actions and roars of the most terrifying creatures in the galaxy to incite the highest level of fear in enemy forces. However, what makes it so deadly is that the beasts claws can tear apart anything within reach, including tanks, and its jaws can tear entire squads of men into bloody heaps. It also boasts nearly impenetrable armor. They stand an imposing 13 feet tall, and have over 4 feet of solid Quadranium plating. I'm quite sure not a single Kklxin will make it inside the tomb with one of these on the prowl." Vole said proudly. "Wow. That sounds expensive." "Yes, but well worth the hefty price tag." "Well, please put one on guard as soon as you can. In the meantime, I think we should get back to the party." "Agveed." Ivan interjected. The three walked into the large crowd. There were sailors from both navies singing sea shanties and soldiers showing off parade skills. There was also a huge pole hanging the Imperial battle standard and the Vaikan flag. "...to raise the flag on every hill, haroo, haroo..." Karrel heard as they passed a group of slightly intoxicated Eteno soldiers. They also passed a poor group of Vaikan playing an Eteno betting game with several sailors. There was a stack of Sporebucks by the highest ranking of the sailors. The stack by the Vaikan was gradually getting smaller. Vole had walked off towards the food tables, which were being restocked. Dozens of Vaikan and Eteno were painting small figures and flames on several vehicles from the local hastily erected Eteno motor pool. Undoubtedly there would be more than few upset quartermasters. Along with that, Karrel noticed an Eteno APC slowly pass by with Vaikan on the top playing special instruments. "You Eteno really can bring out the party in people..." Karrel said to Ivan. "Ja. Zese sailors and soldiers have been on ative duty for over a year. Celebrations are few and far vetween." Ivan and Karrel stood and listened to the festivities for a short time, until Ivan suddenly realized something. "Vait a minute... how come vee did not know zat Yanya vas so close to our capital? For all that time?" Ivan asked. Karrel realized that nobody had bothered to ask for fifty years. Part 3: The Kklxin Threat Vaikan Karrel responded, "Well, I actually never expected anyone to find it by accident. The planet Yanya and its orbital path are completely shrouded in a dust cloud, known to us as the Yanyarigan Cloud, that repels any sort of radio signals. Since we mostly rely on telepathic amplifiers for communication, this was never a problem for us. You see, we never realized the need for radio communication until we discovered that most races use it which was actually quite recently." Ivan replied, "Ah, so dat was the strange dust cloud our race stumbled upon all those years ago." "Yes, it is no surprise that any signals you sent to us yielded no response." Karrel said. "Yanya was an ideal location for observing that arm of the galaxy for in the case we ran into an unspeakably powerful enemy, they would never be able to track us to the colony of Yanya and eventually our main colonies. Its tricky to find the colony of Yanya within the dust cloud, but the most skilled navigators can track it." "So, have you been observing us than?" "No. Remember that the galaxy is a huge place. Even we Vaikan have only explored 2000 star systems of the 200 billion in the galaxy. Yanya's exact location within the Yanyarigan Cloud is so secret, that only we Vaikan are allowed on the planet. Not even our closes allies such as the Sarkakion can even visit it." "I zee. Perhaps in few days, we should go back to Malisk II and find the whereabouts of the Kklxin. Dey have become a threat as large as the Ghorax." "Agreed." Eteno The celebration continued until early in the morning. 5 A.M. to be precise. Karrel, Ivan, and Vole had left much earlier than that in order to be well rested for the upcoming journey back to Malisk II. The sky was filled with shuttles ferrying Eteno and Vaikan alike to and from hotels and ships in orbit. The massive amount of goods that were purchased by foreign Sporebucks made the Vaikan stock exchange jump in total value. It had gone up almost 300 points! 1 P.M., Yallvus, Ucharpli... Ivan and Karrel sat in the spacious Vaikan war room as they discussed the Kklxin threat and the greater one of Rarsan, along with several high-ranking Vaikan and Eteno military officials. The Vaikan Peaekeeper Counsellor was also present. "Are you seriously suggesting that we draw the Kklxin into a strike on your own urban centers? That is disgusting!" One of the Vaikan Officers exclaimed. Several of the Eteno officials looked at the Vaikan with astonishment. Ivan signaled for them to calm down with his hand. "No. Vhat vee are suggesting is zat ze Kklxin be drawn into a trap at an avandoned ''urban planet." Ivan calmly explained. "I still do not understand what the plan is and how it will work." "General Anne, vould you please ezplain to ze good General?" "Wi' honor, sir. Aldaris 29 is located in a ve'y dense system. The gravity from the large star and all of the planets in the system create powerful gravitational pulls on all of the planets. A project was started to create a planetwide city on Aldaris 29, in order to mine the vast amounts of Gold ore beneath the crust. However, the project was abandoned by Fuger Constructs due to its astronomical cost and small profit. The entire planet is now just an empty city with a massive gravity well. If we trick the Kklxin into thinking that the planet has huge mines and is densely populated, they will throw the vast majority of their military towards it. We will have over 5 Quadrant Armies' worth of our most elite Marines to defeat the Kklxin army, whilst our navy holds off the Kklxin fleet in orbit." The Scottish-accented woman said. "Why simply hold them off!? I still do not understand!" Another Vaikan spoke. "That is the genius of the plan. A few of our ships keep the Kklxin navy occupied until the men on the surface of Aldaris 29 defeat the Kklxin. Once that is done, we send shuttles to evacuate the force. Once evacuated, we will use a highly-experimental weapon that simulates the gravity of a large star to drag the entire Kklxin navy into Aldaris 29, not only destroying them, but thrusting incredible amounts of Gold and other valuable minerals into space, where it can be collected by several Olympus stations." The Vaikan in the room, including Karrel, were all at loss for words by the genius of the plan. And more so the immense power of a weapon that can simulate a star's gravity. "When will we execute this trap?" Karrel asked. "Vun standard galactic veek." Vaikan One week later... Vole, Ivan, and Karrel had returned to Eteno territory along with Eteno ships and a good portion of the Vaikan fleet. Karrel was in his Dragon Cruiser while Vole and Ivan were aboard the Desserhau. The ships were on standby watching their plan carry out a good distance away from Aldaris 29. Lietenant Bankely said, "The Kklxin have fallen straight into our trap! There they go!" The rest of the fleet was waiting. Ivan said, "Alright! Viz iz it! Deploy the weapon!" Karrel asked Ivan, "I hope your plan works out!" Soon enough, the battle at ended and the Kklxin were being sucked down onto the planet's surface with the superweapon as many minerals were ejected into space. Then, something terrible had begun to happen. Bankely said, "Supreme Commander, something's going wrong with the Super-Gravity Simulator! Look at Aldaris 29!" Every Eteno and Vaikan were in awe at what was happening. The planet had begun to split in half. Ivan said, "What in the name of Marana is going on! Shut it off!" "We can't! The systems are not responding!" The planet along with the Kklxin trapped on it were crushed by the gravity wells of both the weapon and the star system. Karrel interjected, "No! How could you! How could you destroy a planet!" Other Vaikan became enraged. One officer shouted, "Traitors! We thought we could trust you!" Bankely said, "Karrel, I swear that the weapon wasn't supposed to do that! It was only intended to increase the planet's gravity!" Captain Urtag, who was among the fleet, readied his fleet. "Good luck explaining this to the Council! Prepare to fire!" Several Vaikan ships engaged in combat with other Eteno. The Eteno had advanced quite a lot since their first encounter with the Vaikan and put up quite a big fight. Karrel tried to refrain himself from firing. "Forgive me, Ivan. Ignoring the Commandments would be even more evil. I have to destroy you." Karrel fired several shots at the Desserhau, but it was much too quick. The battle continued on for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, outside the galaxy... On a distant Kklxin colony, the spirit of Rarsan manifested itself. Several Kklxin generals awaited him. A Kklxin said, "How did our attack go?" Rarsan said, "Just as planned. I sabotaged the Super-Gravity Simulator causing the Eteno to 'accidentally' destroy Aldaris 29." "Excellent! Our kamikazes made a good sacrifce. Surely, the Vaikan and Eteno will be at war, leaving them more vulnerable to us!" "It's still disgusting how you made me destroy a planet. But if it means bringing the galaxy's inhabitants to justice, it was for a good cause. Now, where's my payment?" "Here you are." The Kklxin gave him a strange, ethereal orb which energized Rarsan making him more "real". Rarsan said to himself, "Karrel, we'll see how much of a king you really are." Eteno "Those blue religious fanatics have betrayed us!" "All ships open fire!" {C {C {C}"That traitor king is only alive because an Eteno saved him!" {C {C {C}"Scuttle the Lady Hex!" {C {C {C}"Hit the lead ship!" "Fire Heaven's Gate! Fire!" {C {C {C}"Do we have ''any ''nukes?!" "Concord, bring guns to bear!" {C {C {C}"Pull back! There's too many of them!" "I can't believe it!" {C {C {C}"They have this coming!" --- Vole scurried along the deck, trying to get to an escape pod as quick as he could. The ship was in no danger of destruction, but Vole would undoubtedly die in the explosions. An explosion knocked Vole off his feet as he rounded a corner. He reached for his cane, but before he could, metal fell from the ceiling and crushed him. The battle was short, as the Eteno ships fled from the huge Vaikan force. A huge chunk of the Eteno Navy soon blockaded the system, preventing either from attacking each other's empires. Vole's funeral was very formal, and was also broadcast across the empire. It was also seen by the Vaikan force bloackded in the Aldaris system. ''Vaikan flagship, Aldaris system... Karrel was on the verge of tears. He was responsible for the death of his elderly friend. Still, they had destroyed a planet and had to be destroyed. "Sir, you should probably get some rest. We all have a lot of work tomorrow building up our infrstructure here." A Vaikan aide said to Karrel. He sighed, looking away from the holovision. "I suppose you're right. We will need everything we have to fight these Eteno and their military." The aide nodded solemnly and left Karrl₳e's quarters. He reached for a picture of an Eteno military parade from 50 years ago. In it were Karrel and Vole discussing their respective cultures. Kklxin territory, on the other side of the galaxy... "The plan was a total success, Overmaster!" Yelled a Kklxin officer. "The Vaikan and Eteno are at war?" "Yes, master! They squabble as we prepare for our strike!" "Will they eventually discover the plot?" "No! Even if they did, the Vaikan king would never forgive them!" "Excellent. I want a full report in an hour." Vaikan Meanwhile, on a nearby Eteno colony, hundreds of Vaikan knights dropped from the sky, wielding a sword and a shield and covered completely in Blessed Dragonrock Armor painted with a light grey. The Eteno citizens below were in fear as the silver armored deathbringers came down to the ground. The Vaikan Grandmaster Zerif was on the field pointing his sword at the Eteno army who were using laser guns and light armor. One Eteno said, "Wait a second. Wasn't it true that a single Vaikan could take out an entire Ghorax army with little effort?" Another replied fearfully, "Uh-huh. Now we got to face a thousand of them." "This is not gonna be pretty." Grandmaster Zerif said to the rest of his army, "Let us bring justice to these tainted ones! CHARGE!" The whole Vaikan army dashed forward as the Eteno attempted to hold them off with their lasers, which simply bounced off the Vaikan's armor. Meanwhile, up in the Vaikan flagship, Karrel could not watch the bloodshed below. His mind was shrouded in horror. Captain Urtag, who was in the same room said, "Your Highness, you must accept that these Eteno have broken the Commandments!" "I just can't accept that! They were our friends! Our allies! How could they have any intention on breaking the Commandments! This isn't right!" "You are becoming like your brother, Karrel! If you ignore their wrongdoings, you will become a restless spirit doomed to dwell in Uszaroth's domain for all eternity! Is that what you want?!" "No, Urtag. Please, just let me rest. I need to meditate on this!" "As you wish, Your Highness." Urtag stepped out of the room and Karrel lit two, short torches with incense. He sat down on the rug in between, crossing his legs and his arms out. He closes his eyes and tried to focus. In his mind, he entered a strange world that only consisted of a distant galaxy amongst an endless dark void. There was no floor, though he could still walk. He then saw an image of a long dead Vaikan king manifest itself. The spirit called out to him, "Karrel. Karrel. Can you hear me?" "Who-who are you?" "It is me, Rustiagon Dralla. I sense chaos has erupted in the universe." "Yes, our allies, the Eteno have destroyed a planet! Now they have become cursed forcing us to destroy them!" "Karrel, do you know what it was like when I became the very first Vaikan to witness evil? It was like taking a step into a hellish realm of pain and torture." "But how do I stop him, Dralla?" "Uszaroth cannot be stopped, but only controlled. It is too late to stop the war with the Eteno. At least not until you vanquish the source of their curse." "Yes, that's right. An unintentional violation of the Commandments still has hope. But what is the source of the curse and how can I find it?" "Karrel, you are losing focus! You are thinking of the sorrow and grief of the war!" "Quickly, please tell me what you know!" "Alk'charis, in the Meezinho system! It is outside the galaxy!" Dralla told him the exact coordinates. "That is all I can tell you. Whatever you find there is what you need to destroy in order to stop the war and purify the Eteno!" "Thank you." "And beware of the source of the curse. If you do not end this war soon, it could be the downfall of both the Eteno and us." Karrel suddenly awoke losing focus. Alk'charis. The name of that planet echoed in his head. Eteno The Vaikan knights on Vassis were quickly gaining ground on the smaller Eteno. Moments before the Vaikan swords decpaitated the retreating soldiers, a 50-meter tall metal behemoth smashed through a skyscsraper. The Eteno all turned at once and focused charged shots on one of the knights. The power from all of those shots on one point ruptured the armor and killed the knight. Before General Zerif of the Vaikan knights could react, a gigantic fist sent a dozen knights flying after smashing into the pavement. It extended it's wrist blades and slashed three more knights. Several dozen Vaikan swarmed the legs and sliced them, attempting to topple it. The mighty beast fell over, and began firing deadly plasma cannons in random directions. Multiple Vaikan were vaporised. The Eteno soldiers fighting the Vaikan knights with their swords were either dead or retreating, as Zerif deduced. "Advance! Cleanse these sinners!"" He bellowed to the hundreds of soldiers. After running through an abandoned suburb, facing minimal resistance, they reached well-prepared fortification. Several Conqueror tanks and even a Sabertooth walker were waiting for them, as well as an entire Regiment of Eteno swordsmen and heavy soldiers. Fire ripped along the trenches that were dug, and the tanks fired their railguns. The gigantic quadrapedal Sabertooth fired hundreds of missiles at the Vaikan. Almost all of them were evaded. Their was a massive battle, and the Eteno were forced to retreat once again. Zerif, however, had to keep advancing with his steadily dwindling force of knights. The Eteno had the advantage of weapon range and rate of fire. After several hours of painstaking combat, the knights finally reached city hall. Zerif ran inside along with his knights, and saw the mayor, several children and their parents, and three Eteno marines. The marines glared at Zerif and stood in front of the people, guns raised. Zerif sighed, and signaled for his knights to attack. The battle hardly lasted fifteen seconds. "Computer, set a course for Alk'charis. The coordinates are 473.829 N, 3822.6300 E." Karrel said to his ship. "Yes, your majesty." The ship made several noises, and suddenly disappeared from the ranks of the Vaikan ships. Far too fast for the Eteno to even detect, the Dragon Cruiser sped off towards Alk'charis, outside of the galaxy. "Thank Krayhan that it is closest to this arm..." Karrel mumbled hoarsely to himself. Karrel sunk into his chair, and took a deep breath. "Who knows how many Eteno and Vaikan are dead right now. Computer, bring up the latest Eteno news broadcast." An image of a female Eteno with a microphone appeared. Behind her were balls of fire, and thousands of Eteno armored vehicles steaming towards a settlemant. "War! The Vaikan have betrayed our nation, and attempted to destroy our fleet in Aldaris. They were not successful, and their ships are penned into the system, unable to leave. Behind me are elements of the 3,685th Armored Battlegroup, charging towards a Vaikan outpost on the planet known as Yanya. Yanya was discovered in a dust cloud near the Sius system, our nation's capital. The planet's main city has been shelled for seven hours now, with our troops just now moving in for the kill. I'm Morrigan Stanford, ENN News." Karrel paused the broadcast, and began thinking about the war. "They are an extremely strong enemy, and their navy has improved massively over the 50 years we have been apart. I'm actually unsure of our victory." He thought to himself. All that mattered now was getting to Alk'charis. "Computer. How far are we away?" Part 4: We Are Now At War Vaikan "We are about 3 parsecs from the Meezinho system. Alk'charis is not far." Karrel continued speeding along anxious about what he would find there. Meanwhile... The colony of Yanya was almost nearly destroyed. There was more to it than Karrel told Ivan. The Eteno soon discovered what the Vaikan were hiding there. With the outpost now lost, the Eteno soon arrived on the surface. It was difficult to communicate with the Yanyarigan Cloud blocking all radio communication. The Eteno soldiers came across a large, strange object that was not of Vaikan design. An injured Vaikan scientist was sitting against it. An Eteno soldier said, "Pah! So they were hiding something here? What is that thing?" The general replied, "Looks like some kind of engine." "You will never take this, you filthy scum!" the scientist said. "Tell us what it does first. Are you trying to destroy us?" "Not before you destroyed that planet. If you swear to leave it be, I will tell you what this thing does," the scientist said. The general said, "Fine then. Tell us." "It's an ancient machine said to have been created by the Omni, the race credited to developing the warp drives which many others found to advance themselves including ours and most likely yours. This is a prototype that was never tested by them, but if it works properly, it can allow the user to travel almost instantly to any part of the galaxy. We created this outpost because we wanted to defend this long forgotten technology from the unworthy such as your kind!" The general was awed at this amazing piece of technology. He was deciding if he should actually agree to what the Vaikan said or take the Omni technology for themselves. Back at the Dragon Cruiser... Karrel was staring at a brown, dead planet with a small, white sun in the distance. This was Alk'charis. "Computer, run an analysis on the planet." "Scanning...done. Terrascore: T1. Atmosphere: Breathable. Take caution to the dust storms. Gravity: Standard. Description: Most likely once a verdant planet, but has been drained of its resources. Appears to be an abandoned colony though there is some Kklxin activity on the surface." Karrel suddenly realized. "What?! This is the Kklxin's doing? Starting this war between us?! I'll hunt down every last one of them! But are they the source of the curse? They can't be. It has to be something ethereal. Ethereal like...Rarsan!" He sped down to the surface of the abandoned planet in search for the Kklxin and Rarsan. Eteno "If we used this incredible technology, we would run the risk of it falling into Kklxin or Ghorax Resistance hands. Leave it as it is, men. And you, sir, are coming with us. We could really use your knowledge." General De Gaulle said solidly. "I'll never assist you, beasts!" The scientist declared defiantly, as he was hauled away by Eteno M.P.'s. "Ah, but you will. We have... ways... of breaking wills." De Gaulle observed a tiny nanobot on his finger. He took careful notice of the micro-syringe on it's back. "You wouldn't have time!" "Perhaps not, if the war ended tomorrow!" The High General bellowed. Unbeknownst to De Gaulle, the war would ''end tomorrow. Meanwhile, on the bridge of the supercarrier ENS Normandie... Admiral Telfair's mind was not on the war, strangely, but on the signal they were sent to trace. It sped at lightspeed out of the Aldaris system, and outside of the galaxy, only to stop at a small, rogue, star system. She turned in her chair to the navigation officers. "How far are we from the objective?" She asked in a calm, professional voice. "Only an hour or so, ma'am. The maintinence crews finally fixed the photon reactors. We are running at 170% efficiency." One of the young sailors replied. "Excellent. I want all hangar crews on standby, this could be anything. Even a secret Vaikan facility." "Yes ma'am!" On the surface of Alk'charis, unkown location. Karrel slowly crawled through the vast, sandy desert, his eyes darting from object to object, looking for any sign of the abandoned colony. After reaching an unusually tall dune, Karrel sat up. What he saw was a large Kklxin command center. "If I want any information from these creatures, I suppose it will have to be with stealth." he said to himself. He turned on his specially-designed stealth generator, and crept towards the main entrance. Apparently, the Kklxin had not expected anyone to find the base, and therefore had no defenses or detectors. Karrel slipped into the main office. In it were Kklxin command staff talking over their species' version of coffee. "Those fools think the Eteno were responsible for Aldaris 29's demise? Morons!" {C {C {C}"Those Vaikan are so guillible!" {C {C {C}"The Eteno reacted just as we'd hoped!" {C {C {C}Karrel couldn't believe his ears. "The Kklxin sabotaged the Eteno superweapon at Aldaris?!" He thought to himself. Enraged at them forcing such bloodshed between Vaikan and Eteno, he unsheathed his glowing sword and unstealthed. All of the Kklxin in the room were startled. This moment of surprise quickly tunred to panic at the sight of the mighty Vaikan king Karrel. The Rustiagon-dynasty king annihilated all of the Kklxin in the room. Unfortunately, an alarm had been raised. Karrel dashed out of the building, but a huge assembly of Kklxin soldiers were waiting outside. Karrel gripped his sword. Out of nowhere, three ninja stars danced around the assembly of burly soldiers, spreading blood everywhere and brutally killing many of the Kklxin. Karrel's eyes followed the stars, and saw the being that grabbed them cleanly as they returned to his hand. The figure brandished a butterfly knife at the well-armed troopers, and dove into the assembly, murdering countless Kklxin whilst he remained a blur, his weapon felling all of the enemies. As the last one dropped dead, he raised his head. "Colonel Orlovski, sir." The masked Eteno spoke. He perked up, and turned. But he was too late. The glowing sword impaled him as a shocked Karrel's face turned to anger at the newcomer who murdered the short asassin. Vaikan Karrel examined the body of Colonel Orlovski. Soon enough, he noticed that it was fake. Whoever this man was was most certainly very cunning. Karrel left outside to return to his ship, but shortly after, Rarsan manifested himself in front of him. Rarsan said, "I must say. You are not so bad of a king after all." "Why are you doing this, Rarsan?! What's the real reason?!" "Fine. I'll tell you." Rarsan then became enraged whilst telling him. "You are a pale reflection of what I could have been! Ever since I was a child, I wanted to be the one who slew the hoardes of Ghorax and destroyed evil! Now, with the Council biased towards you, this is what I get in return for all of my hard efforts?!" "The answers you put on the exam were not what you really thought!" "And you shouldn't be talking! It was the same case with that question about the Ghorax on the exam! They killed dad and you wanted revenge! Instead, on the exam, you said they were still rightful warriors! And guess what?! The Council still accepted you! This is complete, utter nonsense!" Karrel's eyed widened. He could not argue with that. He drew his sword and shouted, "You are a tormented spirit! You tainted the Eteno race and dishonored ours! It is time you be laid to rest!" "If a fight is what you want, have at it." Rarsan drew his enormous, electric glowing sword. Both of them charged at each other. Karrel used his mind to make his sword able to strike the ethereal being Rarsan was. After about 10 minutes of supernatural duelling, the ground begun to shake. Then, a demonic being about 100 feet tall burst out of the ground. It had blood red skin with two horns and a set of wings. Even Rarsan became frightened by it. The demonic being bellowed, "At last! I have been freed my imprisonment! The Kklxin have been useful after all!" Karrel and Rarsan were speechless. "Tremble in my presense mortals! I am Uszaroth! Titan of Chaos!" Rarsan shouted, "You disgusting being! You don't belong in the realm of mortals!" That instant, Karrel felt Rarsan's soul purify. Uszaroth suddenly became more colloquial. "Ah, enough of the fancy talk. The times have changed in so many years." He cracked his neck. "Man, it's nice to stretch after being trapped in this planet for thousands of years. So, yeah. I don't really have time to own noobs such as yourself. I got some business to attend to at Malisk II. Gee two gee!" The demon crouched down and leaped into the air past the atmosphere and was flying through space towards Eteno territory. Rarsan broke down. "What have I done? How could I have committed so much sin? I...I did this? Brother, please. I ask of you. Seal Uszaroth away somehow. Then, I'll rest in peace." Karrel said, "It won't be easy. I doubt any amount of firepower could even touch that monster." "Go Karrel. I'll stay here with Colonel Orlovski and hunt down all of the Kklxin on this planet. The war between your races are over thanks to you. You have been a good king." Karrel hopped into the Dragon Cruiser heading back to Malisk II. Elsewhere... A Kklxin reported to the general. "Sir, something has gone wrong. We have lost some men on Alk'charis." "No matter. Have we dug up our new superweapon?" "Yes. It will most definetely dwarf the Galaxy Buster." "Indeed. Uszaroth will bring terror to the galaxy!" Eteno "Abandon ship! Abandon ship!" An obviously terrified Eteno sailor screamed. The remains of the crew of the supercarrier Normandie were rushing to escape pods. An insanely huge red monster blasted past the ship, annihilating the bow. Admiral Telfair was dead, floating around in space. All that the panicked sailors could hope for was that the Kklxin on the surface took prisoners. As the last pods ejected from the ship, the remains of the terrifying carrier exploded into a brilliant ball of flame and debris. "Captain Barlo, I'm picking something up with my pod's sensors." One of the escapees reported. "What the... I recognize that radar signiature..." Karrel clutched the controls of the Dragon Cruiser tensely, with a mixture of anger and fear. His attention quickly turned to his radar as it made a bleeping noise, signifying that it detected something. Multiple escape pods of unknown origin were heading in his direction. He then switched to his radio, and hailed them. "This is King Rustiagon Karrel. What happened?" "Vaikan! Oh holy mother of..." "Wait! Eteno!? We aren't at war anymore! It was the Kklxin playing us both all along! Your men already know and so do mine. Do you need a tow?" "Ahh, yes please. We have electro-tethers that would allow us to follow you." "Well, go ahead and attach them!" Several fluctuating, yellow beams sprung from the cylindrical capsules containing the evacuees of the Normandie. They latched onto the Dragon Cruiser with a loud thud. "Linked. Lead the way, your majesty." {C {C {C}Karrel smiled fully for the first time in months. All was forgiven by these Eteno at least. The understood that they were not enemies. Karrel engaged the warp drives and sped off towards Malisk II and Uszaroth. Meanwhile, in the tender agricultural lands of Malisk II... "Bring it down!" "Retreat! Retreat!" A huge force of Vaikan and Eteno soldiers were fighting a desperate battle with the massive red creature. It bent time and space in a way never seen before to disappear and reappear wherever it wanted to. The bodies of thousands of Eteno and Vaikan littered the landscape. The tallest of the Eteno gigawalkers, the Megalith, hardly stood half of the awful demon's height. Aircraft pelted the demon with napalm and fragmentation bombs, but it seemed as though the creature was immune to pain. The more it was bombed, the faster it went towards Eteno City. Commander Dax Monore was with his team of Iron Pauldrons heading towards some sort of demon beast steaming towards Eteno City. He leaned on his rifle in the cramped APC. One of his men decided to look out of the top hatch and see if he could find the beast. A giant beam of fire vaporised his head. The decapitated body slumped down in a bloody heap. "Alright Pauldrons, go go go!" Dax yelled to his surprised squadmates. The front hatch of the carrier flung open, and out ran twenty elite Iron Pauldrons. "How in Marana's name are we gonna kill that, 'mander?" Vaikan "Commander Monroe," Karrel said. "That monster is called Uszaroth. It's a creature from ancient Vaikan mythology who was once a servant of our God Krayhan. According to legend, Uszaroth left Krayhan and descended to Ucharpli to bring about chaos to the Vaikan causing him to be banished for thousands of years." "So that things isn't even from this universe?!" "Indeed. But there's got to be a way to destroy it. I must meditate once more." "Well, meditate quick or we are going to lose our whole planet!" "Patience. Allow me to focus!" Meanwhile, Uszaroth was on the surface of Malisk II wrecking havoc. With some strange force, he caused obsidian towers and castles to emerge from the ground. They had slowly begun to overtake the planet. "Sorry dudes, but I gotta build my own kingdom and stuff. And this planet's gonna be my capital city." The other Eteno and Vaikan on the surface were in awe at this monster's power. Meanwhile... A news broadcast came up on the holovisions in the homes of the Eteno in Eteno city. An emergency alarm sounded off on the TV. "We interrupt this program as there is a planetwide emergency. This is not a test." said a computerized voice. Meanwhile, Morrigan Stanford appeared on the screen. "Hello, fellow Eteno. I bring you some grim news. Strange obsidian towers and castles have been emerging from the ground in the agricultural lands and have been expanding at an alarming rate. Meanwhile, Eteno and Vaikan soldiers are fighting what appears to be a giant, otherworldy monster with very little success. It is believed that this monster is causing this city to rise from the ground, and if it continues, the city may level every Eteno structure on the planet. And now a message from Supreme Commander Ivan." "Citizens of Malisk II. Dis is your Supreme Commander. As you just heard, a supernatural creature is causing an obsidian city to rise from the ground dat may level all structures on da planet. Please head to the nearest spaceport for evacuation to the nearest colony. This is a dark time. Stay alive and preserve our culture." "Yes, please get to the nearest spaceport as soon as possible!" In the background, obsidian towers appeared and begun to emerge from the ground underneath the studio. "Oh my Marana!" Morrigan Stanford ran from the studio as the network cut off. Back in orbit... Karrel finished meditating. "I've got it! The answer is at Yanya! You've probably discovered what's there by now." "Go on," the Commander said. "Warp engines such as the ancient Omni one can also be used to tear open the fabric of space and time. We might be able to open a portal to another dimension where we can trap Uszaroth for good." "How do you know this will work? How can we open this portal to trap Uszaroth without destroying Malisk II? He's not going to leave the planet any time soon." "I don't know. We may need to open the portal within the atmosphere of your planet." "Preposterous! You wouldn't dare break your own commandments to destroy OUR planet?!" "It's our only option. If we are lucky, the portal might be small enough so that it doesn't destroy Malisk II." "I still don't like this idea." "We must do this, Commander. If we were to fail, Uszaroth will expand his kingdom further and destroy all civilization!" "Well, if something goes wrong with the engine and our planet were to get destroyed, who's going to take the curse?" "I'll launch the engine! I don't want your people to become tainted again! We Vaikan are immune to our own curse but if we were to break our own Commandments, we would end up as a tormented spirit just as Rarsan did." "Alright, let's go." Eteno General De Gaulle sat in his comfortable seat on-board the ENS Bastion, towing a massive warp engine at Yanya to the smelting plants of Elgak. "General! We have a priority 1 signal coming in from Malisk II!" Yelled an Ensign over his personal communicator. "Priority 1!? What is going on there?" "We don't know, but they say that they need this huge engine thing!" "Then plot a course, Ensign. Get it done!" "Yes sir!" Raid sirens blared over throughout the massive metropolis of Eteno City. Swarms of civilians were being driven to Nael Starport in large, camoflauged trucks that were taken from the local National Guard center. Many personal items and large bags lay discarded on the streets, as the military made it clear that they could not handle any major luggage. Soldiers were along the roads directing the trucks, as huge formations of transports landed and took of from Nael Starport. The building was filled to the brim with fleeing civilians, and families trying to find their kin. Near the columns of military trucks were deployed artillery guns, desperately attempting to hold off Uszaroth. ''Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Eteno City... "Someone will need to stay behind in order to keep the beast from destroying Eteno CIty until the rift can destroy Uszaroth." One of the Iron Pauldrons said to Karrel. "We will, Sergeant." Spoke Commander Monore. Monore's soldiers gave him surprised looks. "I joined the Pauldrons to protect the Empire, or die trying. Anyone here that will join me and fulfill their duty, say I." All of his men said I. "Good! Get your grappling hooks out and load your weapons. We're gonna hit this thing where it hurts." Karrel walked up to the soldiers. "You are some of the bravest men I have ever seen. It is my honor to be working with you." "Thank you for your kind words, sir. But we still have the issue of getting to the monster." {C {C {C}Karrel's eyes darted to his landed Dragon Cruiser. "I have an idea, Commander." The Dragon Cruiser sped towards the red embodiment of chaos, with Monore's Iron Pauldrons hanging on the sides. The fighter circled the beast as the passengers threw their grappling hooks towards Uszaroth. Enough of the hooks got hold of Uszaroth for all of the soldiers to swing on the menacing creature. Karrel quickly looked towards the soldiers climbing up Uszaroth as he flew off. "Good luck, Pauldrons..." Karrel said to himself. "'Aigh't boys, get to the top and hit his eye as hard as you can, maybe we can tick him off enough for him to try and kill us." Part 5: Endgame Vaikan The Pauldron fired, hitting Uszaroth's eye. The demon ranted, "Oh c'mon. Seriously, that's not fair!" The Pauldron's continued to fire enraging the demon more. "Oh that's it! You're gonna get owned!" The Pauldrons lured Uszaroth further from the city through the jungle of obsidian towers. Monroe shouted, "Now, Karrel!" Karrel flew above Uszaroth and activated the ancient Omni artifact, creating a black hole above the planet's surface. The Obsidian tower's roofs along with rocks from the ground were being sucked into it. Uszaroth desperately tried to escape, but failed. Uszaroth cleared his throat returning to his menacing, epic voice, "This is not the last time I walk upon this realm! Tremble as I leave behind my vengeance!" As Uszaroth was sucked into the black hole, he raised his arms causing it to spin faster and grow larger. A chasm began to open up which was soon leading to the planet's core. Monroe said, "Karrel! Shut that thing off now!" "I did shut it off! Why is the black hole still here?!" "I don't know, but we have got to neutralize it!" "Do your people have anything that could possibly do such a thing?" Monroe pondered for a moment thinking as hard and quickly as he could. The black hole tore open the chasm further and further as more of the planet's surface along with Uszaroth's towers were being sucked away. Eteno Commander Monore's face darkened. He turned to his remaining men assembled on Uszaroth. "Use your nanites men. They can use our material for constructing more nanites. They'll be able to plug the cosmic hole using the materials that make up Uszaroth!" He yelled over the stormy chasm above them. "Use your material..." Karrel said slowly. "Use the matter that makes up our bodies to construct more nanites. My arm will be plugging a hole in the universe. How about that." He said darkly. "Krayhan protect you, Pauldrons." "Marana guard you, your highness." Nodding at Karrel, Commander Monore loaded a strange capsule into his rifle. He fired at chest, shattering the delicate pod. The nanites, having revieved their directive from Dax, began consuming the son of Vole Monore. His screams of agony were drowned out by the time/space rip hovering above. Dax's soldiers soon followed suit, and the screaming finally became audible to Karrel. The swarms of nanobots consumed parts of Uszaroth, nearby clouds, even the air around them into a sort of cosmic plug, after which they destroyed themselves by implementing themselves into the plug. Karrel watched in complete awe at the small robots converting even the most basic of substances into complex architecture. The huge cloud of robots quickly shrunk, until all that was left was a giant energy-like structure sealing the rip in reality. Uszaroth's legs and feet finally disappeared into the abyss, which mysteriously sealed itself. "This is St. Croix control to the Dragon Cruiser. We're done here, go ahead and dock in our hangar." A deep voice spoke over his radio. Karrel looked up to determine where the St. Croix was and if he could see it. A huge supercarrier hung in orbit close above him. Karrel sighed, and said, "Roger, St. Croix. Karrel out." Karrel flew his ship close in. Epilogue "Uszaroth," a menacing voice spoke amongst the void of space. "You are blind...You are blinded with Morduin's bloodlust. That was your downfall...The downfall of all mortals. The reason why you lost, and why mortals will lose. Chaos is not meant to exist. Only balance can be achieved through me. I will become the god of a new universe free of chaos, and all shall kneel before me." "Cool story. Did your mom write that speech for you?" Uszaroth replied nonchanlantly. "It would be unwise to act so arrogant. You, Uszaroth, are mine." "Pfft, whatever. You're obviously no god. What are you going to do? Chain me down and steal my power away?" Only moments later, ethereal bounds begun surrounding Uszaroth. As Uszaroth struggled, the binds tightened. "Perhaps I was not clear enough the first time. YOU ARE MINE!" Category:Tandem stories Category:Articles by User:Krayfish Category:Articles by User:SupcommMonroee